Melbourne Cup 2020: Can Cross Counter aiming for winner’s share of $8 million prize purse
The Melbourne Cup is the most prestigious race in Australian horse racing and the 2020 running of the event will once again give out one of the biggest prize purses in the world. The Melbourne Cup 2020 will offer a prize pack of $8 million to the horses running which will be the same amount for the second straight year. Australia’s most famous horse race is set for November 3rd and the Melbourne Cup race betting will be at an all-time high for this edition of the meeting.
Melbourne Cup is run over the course of two miles at the legendary Flemington Racecourse in Victoria. The race is traditionally held on the first Tuesday of the month and this year’s edition will take place on November 3rd. There were fears in Australian horse racing that the event would be moved to another date due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it looks – for now – that the race will take place as normal. Many professional sports across Australia have returned to play and the legendary race will do the same.
One of the favourites heading into the Melbourne Cup 2020 is Cross Counter. The Godolphin owned horse won the 2018 edition of the race with Kerrin McEvoy in the saddle. Trained by Charlie Appleby, Cross Counter will aim to become a two-time winner of the prestigious cup.
Appleby was enthused by Cross Counter’s performance at Royal Ascot and will hope for another big run from the horse Downunder. In 2018, the five-year-old horse became the first British-trained winner of the Melbourne Cup. Last year didn’t go quite as well for Cross Counter who finished in eighth at Flemington under a much heavier weight than in his cup winning run. In spite of the loss, hopes are high that the horse will be able to reclaim his crown in November.
The horse trainer has been connected to the famed Godolphin race team for over two decades. Appleby worked his way up from the bottom with Godolphin initially starting out as a travelling head lad and now finds himself seeking a second Melbourne Cup win as head trainer.
Cross Counter has run just twice in 2020 to this point. The horse competed at Royal Ascot in the Gold Cup and previously competed in a race fixture in Saudi Arabia in January. Cross Counter may be seeking a second Melbourne Cup victory, but the horse’s last six races have not ended in wins. The last win for Cross Counter came over a year ago in March 2019 at Meydan in the Dubai Gold Cup. A third-place finish in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot should buoy hopes of a return to form and a win Downunder.
According to Appleby, another win at the Melbourne Cup with Cross Counter has been his long-term aim. In spite of an eighth-place finish in 2019, it was still a credible performance that could have ended much differently. Will this year’s Melbourne Cup end in another win?
